Gender Transformative ABC's - incredible resource for breaking traditional gender norms

Rigid, narrow codes of tradition masculinity and femininity drive poorer reproductive health outcomes, homophobia and gender-based violence. This is especially true among at-risk youth, like those who are of color or LGBT.

To improve outcomes, there has been an increased focus and commitment on "gender transformative” interventions and policies. Gender Transformative approaches question, challenge and change rigid gender norms and inequities. Major international donors–like PEPFAR, UNAIDS, USAID and WHO–have already endorsed Gender Transformative interventions.

via truechild.org

Truechild.org is a wonderful resource for grappling with the issue of combating traditional gender norms for young people. This is essential reading/understanding for all educators. Use TrueChild's "learn the facts" section to get yourself up to speed, fast. Our kids need us on this issue as much as any other.

Kiran Bir Sethi teaches kids to take change the world and brought me to tears at #tedxnyed

via ted.com

Kiran Bir Sethi's TED talk about empowering young people to change their local community was beyond inspiring. Her kids changed the town they lived in. She wrote up the strategy, translated it into 8 languages, and distributed it all around India. The result? Over 40,000 schools working for real change all around India.

For those who don't think that educational change can scale, Kiran Bir Sethi shows you that it indeed can. Want your school to be a part of this? Join the Design for Change contest.

Thanks to TEDxNYED for bringing this video to my awareness.

Technology just changed. Now it changed again. You can only try to keep up.

via youtube.com

A great video with French kids looking at technologies from the past 30 years trying to figure out what they are. It's almost scary, and I'm a technologist!

We as teachers need to constantly be experimenting, just like many of our students are. It's the only way to show them how to move through change. By trying.

via Imani

Rockstar’s amazing facial expression technology - distance teaching methods of the near future?

via lenkendall.posterous.com

This video is incredible. This company has put the research, time, and effort into creating a powerful video game experience. I could see this technology becoming less expensive and more approachable, and then what we could do with it in schools would be left only to our imaginations.

Even just to communicate lecture-style information to students who are far away, absent, or who want to review, would be novel. Imagine being able to watch a 3-d model of your teacher from your phone, your laptop, etc. Then imagine giving that student a joy stick, letting them play with a lab that the teacheris running, letting them explore a sin curve in three dimensions. The possibilities are limitless here, and this type of technology will become a disruptive innovation in our classrooms sooner than later.

via @lenkendall

What are the qualities of a teacher who enjoys project-based learning?

What are the qualities of a teacher who enjoys project-based learning?

via doug-johnson.squarespace.com

Doug Johnson gives a helpful list of 6 teacher descriptors for enjoyable project-based learning.

As someone who works with teachers to design projects this makes total sense. It might be strategic to share these qualities with a teacher before you begin working with them to integrate technology. Allow them to visualize themselves being successful and having fun. Prepare them for the experience.